Blues score seven in win against Blackhawks

ST. LOUIS --Zach Sanford had his first three-point game in the NHL to help the St. Louis Blues to a 7-3 win against the Chicago Blackhawks at Enterprise Center on Saturday.

Sanford, who had a goal and two assists, was recalled from San Antonio of the American Hockey League on Oct. 16.
"I didn't know exactly how it would go," Sanford said. "I came in and tried to play with confidence. I got a great opportunity and I think I've done a good job of taking advantage of it for now. My linemates (Ryan O'Reilly, David Perron) have been a great help, the whole team as well. Hopefully, I can keep playing this way."
WATCH: [All Blackhawks vs. Blues highlights]
Patrick Kane had two goals and an assist, Artem Anisimov had a goal and two assists, and Corey Crawford made 30 saves for Chicago (6-3-2), which had won three of its past four.
"I think they just outplayed us," Kane said. "Obviously, when you're getting outplayed, you're going to take some more penalties. That's kind of something that's been troubling us the first start of the season. We seem to be in the box a little bit too much, it kind of halts our game and our momentum. It's something to work on."

O'Reilly and Alex Pietrangelo each had a goal and two assists, and Vladimir Tarasenko scored twice for St. Louis (3-4-3), which was playing its first game since a closed door meeting Thursday following a 7-4 loss to the Columbus Blue Jackets.
"This is really emotional for us," said Tarasenko, who was one of the outspoken players after the game Thursday. "Everyone understands how important this game was. The most important thing now is don't think it's over. It's not the end of the season, so now we have stuff to build on. I told you two days ago guys are going to put 100 percent out there."
Jake Allen made 16 saves before he was injured with 1:01 left in the second period. He was replaced by Chad Johnson, who made five saves without allowing a goal.

Tarasenko gave the Blues a 3-2 lead at 1:39 of the second period on the power play, and Tyler Bozak made it 4-2 at 5:14, scoring into an open net from the slot.
Kane cut it to 4-3 at 16:59, beating Allen glove side from the left circle. He leads the NHL with 11 goals and became the first Blackhawks player to score 11 goals in the team's first 11 games since Bobby Hull in 1967-68.
Tarasenko scored at 15:40 of the third period to make it 5-3 on a rebound in front, and Pietrangelo scored an empty-net goal at 18:02 to extend the lead to 6-3.
Alexander Steen scored a power-play goal at 19:44 to make it 7-3.

O'Reilly gave the Blues a 1-0 lead 18 seconds into the game on a redirection off a cross-ice pass from Sanford, but Kane tied it 1-1 at 3:47 on a shot from the high slot.
Sanford scored to make it 2-1 at 5:28. Anisimov tied it 2-2 at 18:50 on a shot from the right circle.

They said it

"I still think the game was there to be had but unfortunately, we weren't good enough and we weren't at our best for whatever reason. Give them some credit, they moved it around on the power play and capitalized on their chances, but I still think the game was to be had. It was up for grabs, but it wasn't good enough at the end of the day." -- Blackhawks defenseman Duncan Keith
"We played a much more complete game. I think when they gained momentum, we didn't break. We stuck with it. We just stuck together tonight, and it was nice to see. I thought we played a more complete game, that's for sure." -- Blues center Ryan O'Reilly

Need to know

Kane has nine points (six goals, three assists) in a five-game point streak. ... Blues defenseman Jay Bouwmeester had an assist to give him 400 points in the NHL and 100 with St. Louis. ... O'Reilly has 10 points (three goals, seven assists) in a five-game point streak. ... St. Louis scored seven goals in a game against Chicago for the first time since Jan. 12, 2004 (7-4 win). … Sanford missed the entire 2017-18 NHL season after sustaining a shoulder injury in training camp. … Blues coach Mike Yeo said there was no immediate update on Allen and he would wait until he was re-evaluated.

What's next

Blackhawks: Host the Edmonton Oilers on Sunday (6 p.m. ET; NHLN, SN360, NBCSCH, NHL.TV)
Blues: Host Vegas Golden Knights on Thursday (8 p.m. ET; FS-MW, ATTSN-RM, NHL.TV)